morning, that store would have been open. >> thanks for the development. randi, thanks. of course, you can stay with cnn for any late developments. right >> tonight, television looks at itself. >> it is only an idiot box if the idiot is watching. >> i will tell you about the golden age of television. >> our obligation is to entertain. if we left something to think about, so much the better. >> television should not be just entertainment. >> charges were leveled at the commercial television network. >> congress has no right to interfere in the media. >> excuse me! >> you have a responsibility to give the audience what it tuned in to see. ♪

♪ ♪ >> the years of the '60s which end in a few hours have a bad reputation that is not entirely justified. some things got worse, obviously. but tv and other news coverage is better, not worse. we simply developed more demanding standards.

>> when i look at tv, i think of the '70s. >> what is the world coming to. >> the american public was hungry for more. >> more was allowed that hadn't been before. >> it was the last decade where it was a campfire television, where there was one in the living room. >> i want to watch an all black show for a change. >> oh, where are you going to find one? >> here's one -- the los angeles lakers against the milwaukee bucks. >> young people were interested in relevant things. so television began to reflect that. >> this is cbs. >> really it was very simple. you had three channels plus pbs. when the decade turned over into the '70s, television was very rural. >> hee haw! >> "the beverly hillbillies." >> cbs had "beverly

hillbillies." "green acres." >> "petticoat junction." >> mayberryisms. >> fred silverman who was running programming at cbs said, "we are going to get rid of the shows that are the most highly rated and replace them with shows that they thought would be more appealing to that younger audience." >> it changed the face of television. >> my name is norman lear. >> until 1971 he was a very sketsful, if unheralded producer writer in hollywood. then heap burst upon the public consciousness when he took on bigotry with "all in the family." >> norman lear, created iconic shows. >> they revolutionized cbs and all of television. >> our world is coming crumbling down. the coons are coming. >> to use language like that on tv was unheard of it. captured a certain moment. >> archie, 12% of the population is black. there should be a lot of black families living out here.

>> yeah, this is only the beginning, but i think it is wonderful. >> see how wonderful it is -- >> it scared me when i saw "all in the family" they better be careful. there was no doubt, the american people were going to accept it. >> do you have a quick answer for the people who say the show reinforces bigotry? >> my quick answer is no. >> everybody is going to see something they knew damn well was going on and nothing that surprising. >> edith, i'm out of toilet paper. >> no, we are not. i bought some yesterday. it's in the closet in the kitchen. >> i ain't in the kitchen. >> oh. >> hearing a toilet flush for the first time was a big deal and made headlines. [ toilet flushes ] >> what's the country coming to? >> what is it, archie, bad news? we get out of vietnam or something? >> don't be a wise guy, huh. >> i wasn't going to play around with mom dented the car. how are we going keep dad from finding out. not when i see everything going

on in the country. >> just because a guy is sensitive and is an intel lecture and wears glasses you make him out as a queer. >> i never said a guy who wears glasses is a queer. a guy that wears glasses is a four eyes. >> "all in the family" did something new for television. it put something before the american public. archie's friend who was masculine and happened to be gay. >> how long you know me? 10, 12 years? >> yeah. >> in all that time did i ever mention a woman? >> oh, come on, steve. >> nixon objection to the show, that was a badge of honor. it was really culturally on point. every time. for a sitcom that was unheard of. >> one, two, three.

>> i wanted to do an episode where somebody could give archie what he earned. >> shut up all of you! >> we created a character that could really let him have it. >> maude. >> i'm only here because of edith. the fact that you happen to be here with her is beyond my control. like any other freak of nature. >> before that show was off the air, fred silverman was on the telephone with me saying "there is a show in that woman." >> hello? no, this is not mr. findley, it's mister findley. yes, mister findley has a much higher voice. >> get your coat on and come on? >> what makes you think you can order me around? >> you're my wife that gives me the right. >> when he says wife he means possession. >> so what, maude, you told me you wanted to feel possessed. >> walter, i never said that

standing up. and you know it. >> he really turned the spin-off series into an art form. >> norman lear hates to call it the lear factory. all of his series comet out of this building letting leer to move from show to show like a deservish. -- dervish. >> good times was like holy smokes. there are black people on tv. >> never before a whole black family on tv with the fame father. >> dynamite! >> you want to worry your head about nothing, go ahead and do it. i have $32 in the shoe box. and $6 in my pocket. >> you worked all night all they paid you were $6. >> there were a lot of folks who were not happy with the show. the black panthers were upset. when huey newton came to see me the big complaint was why can't we see a black man who is doing better than that? >> "the jeffersons" started as neighbors of archie bunker.

>> don't call me honky. >> why are you so sensitive all of a sudden? >> how would you like it if i called you [ bleep ]. >> he called me [ bleep ] >> that's no worse than -- >> your's right nothing is worse than -- except being married to one. >> norman lear set the stage for shows in that just brought gravitas to television. >> what are you staring at? >> i was thinking i ought to bring my neighbor's kids over here. this place is better than the zoo. (music)

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on saturday nights, the cbs lineup in the early '70s was amazing. 8:00 "all in the family." 8:30, "m.a.s.h." 9:00, "mary tyler moore show," and you have "the bob newhart show." >> people had no dvrs, no vhs, nothing with initials. so people would stay home on saturday nights. they wouldn't go to the movie. they wouldn't go to restaurants. that may be the best night of television in all of television history. >> mary tyler moore was a single woman working as an associate producer on a nightly tv show. >> you know what? you have got spunk. >> yeah. >> i hate spunk! >> there were a lot of young women entering the work place

then. and for some of them, mary tyler moore was like a port of entry. >> i am doing as good a job as he did. >> better. >> better. and i'm being paid less than he was because -- >> you're a woman. >> the television female could be a hero. she could be the main event. >> rita. all right. >> out loud! >> the first script written by allen burns and jim gricks had mary coming to minneapolis divorced. and quickly cbs said, no, no, no, no, no. >> at the beginning of the decade, divorce was considered somewhat scandalous. >> she went on dates with a lot of guys. but the guys weren't really important. >> we seem to be hitting it off. and i just. >> you just -- >> she know it obsessed with finding a husband. >> don't forget to take your pill. >> i won't. >> this was about people coping with one another.

and the workplace was like a family. >> i told ted to close the, the copy for sue ann. >> oh, my god. i told the projectionist it was the other way around. >> oh, my god. >> local pig farmers served notice that rising corn prices are forcing them to find other means to feed their stock. here's one pig. just look at her gobble up that slop. we're presenting a new feature, dining out with sue ann gibbons. >> once jim brooks said to me i know there is a world of comedy in my wife's purse. i just can't access it. we have got to find some female writers for the show. >> did you trash the men's room? >> of course not. >> i went as somebody's guest. >> why do you think it is such a winner? >> i think because of the casting. and i think because of the writing. they've don't sacrifice the character for the sake of a good joke.

>> that effort to keep the female sensibility is what made it authentic and good. people would say "your's just like me and my girlfriends." how can you gorge yourself and stay so skinny? i'm going crazy with hunger. >> well eat something? >> i can't. i have to lose eight pounds by 10:30. >> the head of the network said valerie, listen, i will spin you off. i thought, oh, my god, i'm fired. because spin-off is a term that was originated in the '70s. >> if we're going to start living together we have got to till each other everything. >> okay, joe, i want to be married. >> the wedding became a huge national event. 52 million people tuned in to see that. >> suddenly rhoda is in a happy relationship. they didn't know what to do with that. they had to have her get divorced to reboot the show. >> why did you marry me? just answer me that. why did you marry me? >> you made me marry you.

>> i feel so funny. >> it's a matter of trust. >> oh, she is not going to do it. >> and, where do we go from here? >> that will have to discuss in future sessions. >> the '70s also had this their therapeutic overlay. >> hi, bob. >> hi, bob. >> hello? >> we decided to make him a psychologist. >> we seem to have run out of thing to say. >> why don't we pray. >> let's pray for the end of this session. >> i didn't know anything about therapy prior to that. >> i'm from the planet pluton. it's in the galu galaxy. >> how long are you going to be in town? >> i didn't want to do a show, where were your children? i didn't want to be the dumb dad? >> sit, boy. >> howard, i don't care, i just don't want to make any more decisions.

>> people will say, gee my dad and i used to watch the show. and it was great. and then you realize you are part of people's lives. ♪ >> the '70s was the era where a certain artistry developed. and "m.a.s.h." changed people's perception of what the sitcom can be. the sitcom can be cinematic. >> "m.a.s.h." was shot as a movie. m.a.s.h. was maybe the single most unique situational comedy ever. >> i have a headache. a tremendous headache. it goes all the way down to my waist. >> the television series "m.a.s.h." had one thing the movie did not, which was heart. >> there are certain rules about a war. rule number one is young men die. rule number two is doctors can't change rule number one. >> it was about a korea that we were talking about and doing things with vietnam. everybody knew it. >> rolling. action. >> war isn't hell. war is war and hell is hell and of the two war is a lot worse.

>> we with had 30 million people a week watching "m.a.s.h." >> have you ever kidded the foot? >> i prefer girls. >> you better not bump into henry in the jungle? >> i intend only the bump in to nurse baker, repeatedly if possible. >> these were people who would go through the scripts and say we can't use this word. we felt look we were in the midst of a battle. this is freedom of speech. >> at the hearings on television violence today, strong charges were leveled at the commercial television networks. >> the broadcasting industry now stands charged with having molested the mind of our nation's children to serve the cause of corporate profit. >> the family hour was established by the three networks and the federal communications commission in response to complaints of too much sex and violence on early evening television. >> the family hour, the two hours from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. during which parents and children are supposed to be able to watch television without being made to feel uncomfortable.

>> it's topless, edith. >> so, it seemed altogether unfair. and we sued. >> family hour is under attack from some producers, unions and others in the television industry. they have filed a lawsuit to have it abolished. >> as those scheduled to testify arrive, mary tyler moore enterprises. they pass through a picket line protesting the hearing. >> congress has no right whatsoever to interfere in the content of the media. >> if you are sensor a joke today and tomorrow you can sensor the expression of any thought if you can censor a joke. it just becomes easier the next day. >> a federal judge in los angeles ruled the so-called family hour on television from 7:00 to 9:00 was unconstitutional. a violation of the first amendment guarantee of free speech. >> the first amendment was upheld. and most important decision and it is really, truly a victory for everybody.

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chase sunset do it all. on us. get your first month's payment plus five years wear and tear coverage. make the most of summer... with volvo. "the rookies" will not be seen tonight so we may bring you the following special program. >> tonight television take is a look at itself. we are looking at what you watch most of the time. entertainment programming on the three commercial networks. what are you looking at? is it good for you? >> somewhere around the middle or late '70s it's like people

got tired of talking about real stuff. >> if the good lord provide us with berries, i think we ate to eat them. >> there was a longing for a simpler time. when it didn't seem like there was so much anger and contentiousness when people weren't so mad at each other. >> during last season the waltons caught on. >> good night, john boy. >> good night. >> this year there will be more nostalgia and wholesome family drama. >> now that dinner is over. let's try out the piano. i'm taking requests. ♪ sunday monday happy days >> i created "happy days" not what a family really was. i thought it would be good if there were some families that didn't get divorced. >> you guys are really -- >> it wasn't by accident everybody on "happy days" hugged each other. it wasn't by accident that everybody in the family ate at the same time at the same table. it was a sweet tender show. american graffiti. looking back on the era of the '50s with a certain affection.

>> hey! >> abc wanted fonzi's "eh" to compete directly with jimmy j.j. walker's "dynomite." >> the fonz, eh! >> catch phrases would be. >> sit on it, how war. -- howard >> does any one say, thank you, arnold. you know what they say? >> sit on it, arnold. >> that's what they say. >> you watch fonzie and you just want to be fonzie. >> oh. >> hey, girls. knock yourselves out. i'm sorry. it was a slip of the fingers. >> it's a fantasy of what teen life could be. >> hey, dafazio. all right. this is laverne dafazio. she is mine. this is shirley feeney. she is yours. as you can see. >> nice to meet you. >> when laverne and shirley made a guest appearance. one of the cameramen said look

at the two shot. that's a series. >> schlemeel, schlemazel -- >> tuesday night's death spot, death to any program that goes against happy days or laverne and shirley. >> one of the few sitcoms that debuted as number one. >> the top number one show this season, "laverne and shirley." a seemingly useless exercise in adolescence. >> you have to go all the way back to "i love lucy" to get the same slapstick and physical comedy. >> never thought about its importance except that it was two girls trying and the value of friendship. it must have something going for it. >> i don't rodeo-do-do-do. >> you rodeo-do-do-do. >> i don't rodeo-do-do-do. >> they didn't say sex. but they said rodeo-do. >> once.

>> laverne and shirley, happy days. he said i like it. but what's missing? spacemen. because we were getting into space. so that's when i created -- a space man. >> wait a minute, who are you? >> i am mork from ork. >> the writers, he wants an alien. they rolled their eyes. they had to make up a story. fonzie is running out of adversaries. >> fonzie has never lost yet. we have the home planet advantage. >> then we have him on the own show. and "mork & mindy" was the hit show of the '70s. >> shazbak! >> ah. >> the audience talk about a willing suspension of disbelief is willing to buy the premise. so they can watch robin williams. >> nano-nano. >> mind if i do? >> just so they can watch robin williams. >> that was an interesting part of the balance i think of the

television diet. there was an attempt to ex-mrr deeper into the psyche of what makes us tick there was also a need to escape. >> i'm going to a beach barbecue. >> uh-huh. i can see what is going to heat up the coals. >> this is any single phenomenon that tilted the ratings book in abc direction it is t and a. it's the cbs affiliates meeting he explained how t & a shows are concocted. >> they take the clothes off three times. and get idea. so they jiggle. and then they say, now, let's get three undressed scenes. and three jiggles. and write a script around it. >> there are some who will tell you t & a has peaked and is on its way out. abc has shows like "the love boat" and "three's company." >> jiggle tv referred to the fact that these were women who were, you know, who were, you know -- >> good morning, angels. >> good morning, charlie. >> "charlie's angels" became an enduring trademark of the '70s. >> i already made arrangements for you three to go to prison. >> open your towel.

i'll be standing as erect as ever. good morning, angels. >> good luck, angels. >> battle of the network stars. >> oh, god. i did that battle of the network stars a couple of times. and i hated it. >> a pretty good time on billy crystal. >> networks would loan out their tv stars to compete in a series of quasi-olympic type events. >> she's leaning so far over the boat she seems to be wobbling. >> erin gray. >> a great set of legs. >> we have a lot to apologize for. >> my only defense, it was the '70s. >> did i jiggle much. >> uh. live and learn.

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>> public television has been expected to do a great deal. almost half of noncommercial program hours are aimed at children, and it has come to be so many things, to so many people. >> the pbs children's programming in the '70s became the platinum standard on the planet for how you use this medium to educate kids. ♪ would you be mine could you be mine won't you be my neighbor ♪

>> it was fred rogers who made it okay to speak to an audience of kids like they were human beings. >> there are some thing that are very difficult to understand in the newspaper. >> every now and then i think back to mr. rogers, he would say don't be scared. life is good, life is special. >> everybody, life is special because everybody is different. >> just go and do the thing you love. that stuck with me. >> see you tomorrow. ♪ can you tell me how to get how to get to sesame street ♪ >> "sesame street" introduced my children to the interaction of people with different backgrounds. ♪ it's not that easy being green ♪ >> count it. >> count it? >> count. >> "sesame street" was aggressive in terms of learning not only concepts of reading, but concepts of interacting. >> i may be small. >> i may be small. >> but i am.

>> but i am. >> some body. >> some body. >> "sesame street" was as big as it got in terms of celebrity. everybody wanted to hang with the muppets. >> aren't you johnny trash? >> cash. >> cash, cash. >> education champion's television really matured in the '70s. >> i'm leaving. >> i love you. >> i love you too. >> oh, thanks. >> now for something completely different. >> when i was 13 the show from england came on pbs, which before that was only the realm of my parents. >> ew. >> what do you mean, ew. i don't like -- >> suddenly they're doing the most outlandish, racy, non sequitor type of humor and killing me, the 13-year-old. >> it's extraordinary what you can't do on american television. i think you can do on pbs. that's why i hope you all watch it.

>> attack me with it. come on! >> you get the generation of comedy nerds, who don't know that they're comedy nerds. >> this is no more. it has ceased to be. >> "monty python" turned out to break so many rules. it changes everything. just like the beatles, oh, they came after the beatles. look at "saturday night live," look at sctv. after monty python. >> saturday night will open up a live venture from new york city. we just happen to have the producer of the program, members of the company. what should we look for on the program? >> anxiety. >> learn michaels, canadian comedy producer given free reign. >> hi. i'm lorne michaels. >> he hires improv comics. >> rehearsal, let's do 28 face slaps. >> george carlin was the first host. wanted to be permanent host. >> hello. welcome. thank you for joining us live.

>> there were a lot of names bandied about in terms of permanent hosts. >> one of the tv rules you must not break until you do. until you do and then you realize why don't you have a different host every week. but it was the cast that finally won people's hearts. awe call on, who is this? >> candy-gram. >> you cut your own steaks. we give you the sauce. >> i'm barbara wawa. >> thank you, thank you very much. you're beautiful. you're beautiful. thank you. >> you were drawn to the tv set, you knew something insane might happen. >> live, live. >> live from new york. >> partly because it was live. partly because you knew television was in the hands of the television generation. >> and these were kids in quotes who just might do anything.

>> having sex with women within the president within these very walls. that never happened when nixon was in the white house. >> every one of their episodes became worthy of telemudic study if that's the word. >> when i hosted, loren called me into his office and said, you real i the kids are the stars. the host wasn't nearly as impactful. because the thing was all the rage. >> they called themselves the not ready for primetime players. not because they felt they weren't good enough, but because they felt they were too good. >> good evening, i'm chevy chase. and you are not. >> chevy chase became an instant star. >> our top story tonight. >> chevy chase was on the show for one year. >> are you sorry you left "saturday night live"? >> i'm deeply, deeply sorry. >> chevy decided he was too big for the show. so he left. in some ways, chevy leaving after the first year was a blessing. because it showed that "saturday

night live" was going to do much more than survive. ♪ there are some things that just aren't explainable ♪ >> hello, i'm bill murray. you can call me billy. but around here everybody calls me the new guy. >> when chevy chase leaves. bill murray comes in. >> come on, pop! >> cut, cut, makeup get in here, please. sorry, fellows. >> that just opened up other doors. and "saturday night live" was just kind of taking. >> two wild and crazy guys! >> you will never have to cut again. >> roseanna, roseanna-dana. >> cheeseburger, cheeseburger. >> where do we come from? >> france. >> it was the show for us. it was the show about us. >> you wanted to be a part of it. there was inextricably linked with the times. >> good afternoon. >> good night. >> good night.

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>> monday, monday, mondays the greatest day of the week. >> through out high school there was one show religious broadcasting that you had to watch. if you didn't see it you wouldn't have anything to talk about for all of tuesday and most of wednesday and a big part of thursday. >> why? because monday night is nfl pro football night. that's why. >> monday night football got its start september 21st, 1970, with the cleveland browns hosting the new york jets. >> welcome to abc's monday night primetime national football league television series. and this game is under way on abc. >> frank was there to do play-by-play. don was there to do replays. and provide some humor to the telecast. and howard was there to be the straw that stirred the drink. >> come on! let's go! let's go! >> the pairing of howard cosell with don meredith is a classic sitcom odd couple kind of pairing. you couldn't help but be swept out by what those guys were saying. the booth itself was almost like a variety show.

>> here with us this evening. >> i call it a traveling freak show it really was. and the head freak was howard. there ain't ♪ >> the tension between the two of them. something you wanted to see every week. >> professional football is rapidly growing into a very big business. >> you understand football. >> i look to watch it. i don't understand too much about it. >> would you look to learn more about it? >> we were on a mission that took us close to saying, screw the football fan. he is going to come any way. what we need to do is appeal to women. we need to appeal to the casual football fan. that's whey we started telling stories. that humanized the players. >> joe namath one of the greatest of all times. unfortunately his legs do not go with that arm. >> the things people associate with. recognize this fella? >> what's been your view of this american professional football season. >> it is an amazing event, sight. makes rock concerts look look tea parties.

>> i would look to have your job, be a sportscaster. >> that show became week after week one of the most highly rated shows in america. ♪ >> it showed football was an entertainment experience on par with any primetime show you could imagine. >> maybe it was better because you didn't know how it was going to end. >> "60 minutes" decided to peer into in the electronic future to look at what may be in store for television viewers in the decade of the '70s. television by cable, a communication that would radically alter our life. >> that's the way it is up until -- >> welcome to home box office subscription television. >> hbo debuts november 8, 1972, it is not an overnight success. >> the oft repeated saying was getting people to pay for tv will be like getting them to pay for air. >> saturday mornings they would

play band music and see slides of nothing. >> nobody knew what you could do. nobody knew what you couldn't do. but you were desperately trying not to be commercial television. >> how much time do we got? >> ladies and gentlemen, robert klein. >> the beauty of it was you didn't have to pack everything quickly. you could warm up and get to know and take the stage so to speak. >> the talk shows are okay. you know, i do "the tonight show" come in, i have to be funny in a hurry. six minutes. boom, boom, boom, boom. >> it was contrived. it was the full-throated performance. [ bleep ]. >> this is not regular television. this is subscription. you can say anything. [ bleep ]. >> you are not using public airwaves, the fcc cannot regulate your content. >> i understand you had two orgasms yesterday. can you tell us about them? >> hbo gave cable something to sell. we were getting movies uncut in your home, all of the naughty bits intact.

and then september 1975. we debuted coast to coast with the thriller in manila one of the all-time classic fights, frasier-ali. that's when hbo exploded. >> mohamed ali end of the 14th round. >> before that, you're counting growth in tens of thousand of subscribers. after that, you're counting in millions. that's really daytona day one -- that's really day one for both businesses, hbo and the cable industry. >> if you are a fan, what you will see in the minutes to follow may convince you you have gone to sports heaven. >> in the mid '70s in the sports wrld there -- world there were three giants, abc, nbc and cbs. and then in connecticut, somebody got ahold of a transponder. >> the picture you are watching, taken by a camera sent through sophisticated equipment sent to this earth transmitting system.

>> bill rothinson, fired from his job trying to figure out a way to deliver local cable sports. when they found out about the satellite. they said can we cover the whole state? the guy looked and said you don't understand. >> for another 25 cents or whatever you can send this all over the country. they went, oh, gee. why would anyone want to do that? they didn't quite know what they had. >> and he wound up revolutionizing television sports. >> welcome everyone to the espn "sportscenter" from this desk in the coming weeks and months we'll be filling you in on the pulse of sporting activity not only around the country but the world as well. >> they didn't hatch the money to go out and buy baseball games and nfl games. what they did was take all the leftovers out there. i will be handling the play by play. >> gave birth to arguably the greatest media success story of all time. >> at its best. cable television could provide a refreshing relief from the trend toward bigness, toward centralization.

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>> the best thing pbs did for adults in the '70s is the mini series. the idea of novels for television. >> good evening. i'm alister cook. the ninth episode. >> we ought to put out a sign, discretion is advised. >> i was not allowed to watch it because it had nudity in it. i very much wanted to. >> rather than try to come up with a show that ran for years and years, there was this idea, here's a limited story. we will tell it in x number of episodes and let's do this one with self-contained thing. >> we all did things in the reign of my mad brother that we otherwise wouldn't have done. >> it looked cheap. i was the script and performances that mattered. in other words it could be good for you but it was fun at the same time. such a huge success for public television, abc was the network that hit gold with "rich man

poor man." >> tell a story that isn't controlled by the clock. characters can grow, change, differ. >> i want to talk to you. >> about what? >> about making an honest man about me. >> it's a subject i rarely discuss in the nude. >> we saw in the '70s the big event television if it was done right and compel ing the audience kept coming back and back. >> here you have topics that start to get serious, important, ground-breaking for television. >> there's no life here. i don't want harm to come to you because of me. >> i won't -- i won't listen to this. ♪ >> the majority reaction to the holocaust program has been positive, it has not been without debate. >> with holocaust, the heat was you shouldn't even touch this subject. it's disrespectful. finally the thinking was, no, no not talk about a it would be

disrespectfuler to not perp perpetuate the memory for another generation, if you are too young, here's a depiction. >> not since the war have emotions been so high in germany. the most tangible political effect shown when the german legislature debated the search for nazi war criminals. holocaust made it easier for lawmakers to vote to continue to hunt for nazis. >> holocaust brought it home. it made it real, even though it was a hollywood creation. ♪ >> reporter: sunday night roots begins in eight parts on abc. if it sounds like i'm plugging it, i am a. basically television will never be the same again. >> there was really no bigger television event than "roots." it was based on a 1976 book about a family in africa and coming to america as slaves and what happens to them as the centuries go on. >> i will go to my grave believing that "roots" is america's story. it's not just black america's

story. >> we might have come over in the bottom of the ship, but we all came over in ships. >> your name stay put but it doesn't mean stay a slave. >> as a 19-year-old kid roots was my first job. >> we're not children. we are very close to being men. >> what's your name. >> kunta kintae. >> it was a dream to cast america's favorite television dads in the roles of the white slave owners and the villains. >> i will be by in the morning, captain. sleep well. >> it is difficult to explain in today's culture how unprecedented "roots" was. no one had ever seen the story of slavery before told from the point of the view of africans. it may be the first time that television allowed an embracing

of black pride. one of the reasons "roots" was so popular is not because abc had so much faith in it but because abc didn't. >> earlier mini series were broadcast in weekly installments than abc executives determined if "roots" were to fail they could just be done with it in seven or eight nights. >> it was high-risk/high reward. if it didn't work you were out a lot of tv time and not a lot of people watching. >> the television premier attracted the largest audience in the history of the media. there's something about it that seems to touch all human beings. it transcends age and race. >> reporter: entertainment was meeting humanity and i think that's the primary value, to lead humanity forward. if there's a legacy of television in the '70s, it's that you matter. >> while there's a lot going on

in the world, television was a reminder of how much little things mean to us. the smallest of situations. no matter what the subject matter was, it wanted to include you. you are in the family. don't make fun of the outsider, include them. >> it's legacy is look at how long it's lasted. >> those shows were about people who were kind and nice. they were not smooen mean spirited shows. >> there was a certain elegance to that. i kind of miss it. >> oh, it was so delicious. five different flavors. archie was sitting at another table with jefferson. remember him? any way, archie was trying to get my attention. -- [ applause ]

♪ the hunt is on and there are possible new leads for the two escaped prisoners after search dogs detect their scent. the germanwing's co-pilot who crashed a passenger plane in to the french alps, there are new clues in to what investigators believe was in his mind. in the u.s. state of virginia, a 17-year-old pleading guilty for a recruiting and raising money for isis. from cnn world headquarters here in atlanta, i'm george howell. this is "cnn newsroom." welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. we start this hour with the new leads in the m